Page:Canadian Alpine Journal I, 1.djvu/173

112 been removed. We grasped at this as a sort of last straw, entered it, and began a scrutinizing examination of the walls on either side. At length we detected a small ledge which led up a short way to a little dome of rock, beyond which we could not see. But we had hopes, and indulging temporarily in the pleasures of hope, we contented ourselves for a sufficient length of time to dispose of a few sandwiches, which, needless to say, we enjoyed immensely, as it was now nearing ten o'clock, and we had breakfasted shortly after two. The recollection of that lunch always provokes a smile. We sat in a row, on a ledge of cold, damp rock, a dejected quartette, with our feet dangling over a perpendicular drop, beneath which was a small glacier; the water dripped about us and pebbles of various sizes hurled themselves from the heights above; a cold, chilling wind whistled up through the sunless canyon as we sat shivering there; while we were still feeling chagrined over our recent defeat. It was a disconsolate meal, but in memory lives as a most pleasant and amusing incident.

Having temporarily satisfied the cravings of the inner man, who, by the way, demands considerable attention when one is mountain climbing, we eagerly proceeded upwards to ascertain what awaited us beyond that obtruding dome. With some difficulty we surmounted this, and found ourselves at the base of a beautifully straight, but very perpendicular, chimney, about six feet in width and two hundred feet high. This offered possibilities, so we immediately proceeded to climb to its top. Arriving there, a short shaly slope led to a similar chimney, up which we climbed. We now found ourselves at the top of that first circular band which begirts the mountain, and felt that victory was within our grasp. For some time we encountered a series of steep, rocky slopes and perpendicular faces, which led to a long slope of about 1000 feet, after